Govt notifies appointment of ex-general Janjua as Pakistan’s NSA

It wasn’t yet official until the government issued notification, thus bringing to an end all media speculations.

The post was earlier held by Sartaj Aziz, who also has a charge of adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs.

The notification said the new adviser will be based at the Prime minister’s secretariat.

Reuters, in its recent report, had cited military source that the army chief feels that Sartaj Sahib’s attention is divided. So it has been decided that General Janjua will be appointed the national security adviser and Sartaj Aziz can give his full attention to the foreign office.”

“This is not about the PM conceding to the army chief or the army being a bully, not at all. This is about both sides deciding together.”

“The army had advised the PM against engaging Modi but he (Sharif) had insisted that he would pursue peace talks,” the official said. “He is very disappointed by Modi’s response and he has realized that perhaps the advice he got then was correct.”

A senior minister in Sharif’s cabinet said the army chief had pushed Janjua’s appointment “for many months,” although Nawaz had preferred to keep his own man, Aziz.

Former ambassador Sherry Rehman with Lt.General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua during NDU delegation visit to the US on April 24, 2013.

“Now the army chief has convinced the prime minister that the military and the government must … work together,” the minister said.

“General Janjua will go to Afghanistan for talks. He will go to the U.S. And yes, when Pakistan-India (national security advisor) level talks resume, it will be General Janjua at the table,” the military official said.

Before that, Janjua was president of the National Defence University, the military’s higher education institute and premier think-tank on national security matters.

He also worked on ‘Azm-e-Nau,’ a military preparedness exercise that had a particular focus on India.